A variety of implantable medical devices for delivering a therapy and/or monitoring a physiological condition have been clinically implanted or proposed for clinical implantation in patients. Implantable medical devices may deliver electrical stimulation or fluid therapy to and/or monitor conditions associated with the heart, muscle, nerve, brain, stomach or other organs or tissue. Examples of implantable medical devices include cardiac pacemakers, cardioverters, defibrillators, or devices combining two or more of these functions, which typically also monitor the electrical activity of the heart, and may also monitor other physiological parameters, such as activity, posture, or various vascular or cardiac flows or pressures.
Implantable medical devices may store a variety of information. For example, implantable medical devices may store information regarding the current operating parameters for the device that control the therapy delivery and patient monitoring functionality of the device, or changes made to these parameters over time. As another example, implantable medical devices may store diagnostic data, which may include monitored physiological parameters of the patient, or parameters of the device. The diagnostic data may also include information regarding events, such as the occurrence of a clinically significant patient event or the delivery of a responsive therapy. For example, an implantable medical device may store information regarding the occurrence of a tachyarrhythmia, e.g., including a corresponding electrogram and marker channel, and the delivery of a responsive therapy, such as a fibrillation pulse.
Implantable medical devices typically interact with a programmer that allows a user to manage information stored on the implantable medical device, e.g., change operation parameters or view information collected by the device. Various types of individuals may use a programmer including physicians, technicians, surgeons, electrophysiologists, or other clinicians. Conventional programmers and implantable medical devices provide any such user complete access and control over the stored information.